What is POP3? – Definition, Characteristics, Advantages, And More

Definition POP3

The English expression Post Office Protocol, which can be translated as Post Office Protocol and is often mentioned by its initials POP, is used in the field of computing. It is a protocol used by email clients to receive and download messages that get hosted on a remote server.

Because the first two versions of the protocol became obsolete over time. Today, it is usually simply referred to as POP3. Thanks to POP3, a user can download email to their computer and read it later, without the need to be connected to the Internet. This characteristic of the protocol was essential when most of the connections were made through the telephone line (dial-up) and were slow.

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Characteristics of POP3

Explicitly, two characteristics define POP3: it reviews email accounts, it is committed to using programs such as Thunderbird and Outlook. And that when requesting email, the server downloads all the information in what is the hard disk that the computer has.

Advantages of POP3

Usually, through POP3, the person accesses their email and downloads it to their computer, thus deleting it from the server. Other protocols, like IMAP, generally work differently (storing messages on the server even when they already get downloaded). POP3, however, allows you to keep emails on the remote server, although for technical reasons, it is somewhat uncomfortable.

Both IMAP and POP3 are, therefore, standard Internet protocols for email that give the possibility of enjoying this service to get the most out of it

-IMAP precisely allows multiple clients to access the same mailbox. It also allows subsequent access to email messages that are available on the relevant server through webmail.

-And POP3, meanwhile, what it does is directly download the messages and then delete them from the server.

In addition to those mentioned above, while the latter protocol is the most widely used on a personal level, the former, IMAP, becomes the preferred one for companies. And it is that it facilitates not only the organization of messages but also their consultation and even making copies.

It is important to note that [POP3] only allows you to receive messages and not send them. When the person wants to send an email, the client they choose usually appeals to SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). It means that, when setting up an email account in a client such as Outlook Express. For example, the program will be instructed to use [POP3] for receiving messages and SMTP for sending.

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